The ever-increasing invasion of privacy online is one of the most disturbing things for Internet users. With uBlock Origin you can easily protect your online privacy. The free an open-source ad blocker and content filtering addon works well  for several web browsers.

While legitimate advertisements are annoying enough, some advertisements are potentially dangerous.  While some online advertisements pretend to be from antivirus scanners, they are the ones that involve malicious content. Adblockers like uBlock Origin not only keep you away from seeing advertisements but also block trackers other advertisers use to spy on you.

uBlock Origin Overview 

uBlock Origin is one the most versatile and advanced options for increasing online privacy at a minimal cost.   It is regarded as a ‘wide spectrum content blocker” rather than solely an ad blocker. uBlock Origin blocks multiple types of advertisements and trackers.

 The browser extension was developed by Raymond Hill and is the industry-leading cross-platform extension for filtering content online. uBO filters out the content that includes pop-ups, malware, Javascript elements, and trackers. Overall uBlock is the top choice for blocking anything from anywhere.  

uBlock Origin Features

uBlock Origin stands out from the rest by providing several features that are generally not available in free ad blockers.  It has several distinct features that make it a comprehensive content blocker.  The built-in ad blocker tells you the number of trackers and ads blocked on the websites and individual web pages.  For high-level security of users, it also provides a warning when you head to websites with noticeable privacy and tracking issues. uBO provides a list of features that are unique from the other ad blockers.

Easy mode: Cosmetic filtering

uBO provides two robust tools for users to perform cosmetic filtering. These tools are named Element Zapper and Element Picker.  Both these tools are powerful and allow users to pick and choose from which elements to remove from the website. Zapper is temporary while the Picker is permanent. uBO comes with a range of built-in and third-party filter lists.  These filters can be manually enabled or disabled at will to increase your online privacy.  

Dynamic Filtering: Medium mode or above

uBlock Origin offers two types of filtering-static and dynamic filtering.  Static filtering is the default and filters out the website content based on the following filter lists:

• All uBlock origin filters
•  Easylist
•  Peter Lowe’s Ad Server list
•  EasyPrivacy
•  Online Malicious URL Blocklist

While on the other hand dynamic filtering allows users to add rules that overrule static filtering. This advanced functionality gives added control over the content you can allow or block.  The setting can be switched by clicking on the uBO icon and selecting the Less or More buttons.

Block Third party scripts and frames

uBlock Origin shows optimal performance in blocking all third-party frames and scripts globally. They are usually embedded websites within a particular website and are often the weak link in the websites that cybercriminals will target with malware. You can easily block all the third-party scripts/frames by clicking on the “+” button next to the text third-party scripts or third-party frames.

Block Social media trackers

 Are you the one continuously annoyed with social media tracking? If yes, there uBO is an easy way out.  In the uBlock Origin dashboard, you will see multiple options for various social media platforms.  With a single click, you can block trackers of Facebook, Instagram and many other social media sites.

uBlock Origin User resources

With a list of advanced features, uBlock Origin also offers several resource libraries. uBlock’s repository help for installation includes a detailed guide on github.com.  This ad blocker works best for less tech savvy users and even advanced users can play around with settings to create custom filters.  Apart from the guideline on GitHub site, uBlock Origin page on Reddit is designed to help users connect and share their experience with the tool.

uBlock Origin Compatibility

uBlock Origin is compatible with few browsers but not with all the devices and applications.  At the present moment, there is no support available for Android and iOs mobile devices. Following browsers support uBlock Origin:

uBlock Origin Pricing

uBlock Origin is completely free of cost, which means developers can do what they like with the code without paying any fee.  Also, the project actively refuses donations. uBlock Origin has the same codebase as uMatrix, which is targeted towards more specific users. It uses the community-based blocklist to filter out unwanted web traffic. Hence, the users have full and complete authority to add new blocklists.

Is uBlock Origin Worth it?

uBlock Origin is one of the most secure and trustworthy options for content filtering. No matter, if you are looking to block ads on YouTube or reduce the overall ad tracking, uBlock Origin is the viable option.  uBlock Origin prevents pop-up windows and other distractions from interfering your overall web experience.

uBO stands from the rest and refuses to make money from companies to whitelist certain acceptable ads for profit. Furthermore, uBO has the best performance among all the ad blockers including AdGuard, AdBlock, and Ghostery.

Frequently Asked Questions